Hornet (CVS 12) - Naval Cruise Book

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RADM E. P. AURAND, USN Commander ASW Group ONE Rear Admiral Evan P. Aurand, Commander Antisubmarine Warfare Group ONE, Embarked in HORNET, was bom in New York City on June 10, 1917. He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1938 and served in LEXINGTON {CV-2), STURTEVANT (DD-240) and MCCORMICK (DD-223) before reporting to flight training at NAS Pensacola. He was designated Naval Aviator on January 1, 1941. He was awarded the Navy Cross when he sank an enemy ship in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire during a dive bombing attack off Lae, New Guinea. He commanded VFN-76 aboard BUNKER HILL participating in the carrier attacks in the western Pacific in 1944. Admiral Aurand also commanded the first jet squadron in the Pacific Fleet in 1947. Other highlights in bis career mcluded XO of HANCOCK, Naval Aide to President Eisenhower from 1957 to 1961, commanding officer of GREENWICH BAY (AVP-41) and later INDE- PENDENCE (CVA-62). He was Assistant for Systems Analysis in the Navy Program Planning Office when he was nominated to the rank of Rear Admiral in May 1964. He is married to the former Patricia Riley of Seattle, Washington, and has one daughter, Margaret Lucille Aurand.

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When this news returned to the States, another keel had been laid for USS KEARSARGE, CV 12. To keep a Hornet in the fleet, this ship was named the Eighth Hornet. To this day, this ship carries the name Kearsarge emblazoned in her keel. But as Hornet, she wrote history in the war against the Japanese. As part of the famed Task Force 58, she tallied a most impressive record, and garnered the coveted Presidential Unit Citation. She shot down 688 planes, destroyed 742 others on the ground, sunk one carrier and one cruiser, ten destroyers, 42 cargo ships, and assisted in the sinking of the battleship Yamato. After the war. Hornet became a ship of the Magic Carpet Fleet — the return of battle-weary veterans from the far reaches of the Pacific to their homes. SEVENTH HORNET — This photo of HORNET, the first aircraft carrier to bear the name, was taken just prior to her sinking as a result of damage sustained during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on October 26, 1942. This ship was in commission one year and one week before she went down in action. Hornet ' s just-completed cruise to the Far East was marked with support action against the Viet Cong. Her jet detachment was operating in attack missions against the rebel and communist forces. Her propeller air- craft provided a submarine net for the attack vessels, and her helicopters performed search and rescue missions for pilots who were shot down over Vietnam. After over 22 years of service, broken by two short periods with the mothball fleet. Hornet is a far cry from her original self in the 1940 s. She now has an angle deck, courtesy of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, necessitated by the coming of the jet age. Her internal changes are too numerous to mention. She is the best antisubmarine carrier in the fleet. Her 1965 Battle Efficiency Award attests to this fact.

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CAPT W. M. PARDEE, USN Commanding Officer Captain William M. Pardee, commanding officer of USS HORNET, was bom Sep- tember 20, 1920, in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1943 and served in destroyers in the Asiatic-Pacific theater during World War II. He was designated a Naval Aviator following flight training in June, 1948. Naval flying duties have been primarily with antisubmarine warfare squadrons, having served with VS-21, VS-31 and VS-37, and as Commander, CVSG-53. He also served in the Pentagon with the ASW Div ision on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. Captain Pardee was commanding officer of the Pacific Fleet oiler USS MISPILLION (AO-105) before assuming his present command. He is married to the former Jane Tupper of Calais, Maine, and has three children, William, Jr., Catherine, and Diana.